WARWICKSHIRE did very well to win the championship last season – only the seventh time that county cricket’s prestige prize has gone to Edgbaston.

But there is a real determination around the Bears’ dressing-room to make last season’s achievement only the start of an era of success for the club.

Only once before, in 1995, has a Warwickshire side started the season as champions and finished it by retaining the crown. Defending your title brings a new set of challenges.

But all-rounder Keith Barker is adamant that the Bears are ready for them. “It’s definitely harder to retain the title than win it in the first place,” he said. “Everybody will be looking at us now and aiming to play their best against us. Last season we were underdogs for a long time and, even though we were top for quite a long time, people were expecting us to falter.

“This year we will be more in the sights of other teams right from the start so we are going to have to raise our game.

“We are capable of that though. The competition for places in the squad is huge so we are all under pressure to keep our standards high and that can only be good for the team.

“We will need that depth because we always lose players to England calls and may lose more as we go along this season. But it’s a great thing that the lads are playing so well they get pushed on to bigger and better things.”